Virtually every business that sells goods or services (whether or not the business deals in consumer goods or services) has a trade-mark.
Each year, in addition to thousands of trade-marks filed for use in association with consumer goods like clothing, food and beverage products, and consumer electronics, a similar amount of applications are filed for industrial goods such as chemicals and building materials as well as B2B products like scientific equipment and machine tools, and even commodity goods such as coffee and microprocessors (think Starbucks and Intel). Tens of thousands of applications are also filed each year for trade-marks for use in association with services ranging from financial, retail and advertising services to transportation, manufacturing and construction services.
A trade-mark does not need to be an iconic brand like Apple, Nike or Harley-Davidson, nor does it need to be a made-up word or fancy logo. Almost any name or mark you use to distinguish your business, products and services from the business, products and services of others can be a trade-mark.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
